Edward VIII’S Coins

Sir: The abdication of King Edward VIII took place 80 years ago. His reign lasted a mere 326 days. Although postage stamps bearing his image were issued, no coinage was circulated in the UK. In certain parts of the former British Empire, however, coins were issued bearing the name “King Edward VIII”.

While living in Tanzania in the late 1960s, some of the old colonial East African currency was still in circulation. Periodically you could come across five and 10 cent coins, with a hole in the middle. This facilitated threading the coins on a cord around the neck for people not used to purses and pockets.

Some of the coins were identical to the images pictured below, bearing the name “King Edward VIII”. These coins are frequently offered for sale as curiosities by street sellers in various towns along the East African coast to this day. The sample shown below was acquired in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, in July 2015. —

DAVID R. MORGAN, COOKHILL, WORCESTERSHIRE.